Reputed journalist claims Arsenal are in the race for €80m-rated Tottenham target

Tottenham are interested in Lille winger Nicolas Pepe but the selling price of the Ivorian could be a stumbling block for Spurs, according to Duncan Castles (h/t Daily Star). Pepe has been in fantastic form for the Ligue 1 side with 15 goals and 7 assists from 22 league games this season.

The journalist claims that the winger is worth €80m, and it is to be seen if Spurs can spend that much for the winger. Castles further added that Arsenal are also interested in the 23-year-old while speaking on the Transfer Window podcast (h/t Daily Star):

“He’s in that young age range and would be that kind of Son Heung-min of a few years ago.

“Lille want €80m for him. The president’s said publicly, the player doesn’t leave unless we’re paid €80m and he’s confident he’ll get that from somewhere in this window or the next window.

“Are Tottenham able to do that? Maybe if they are able to do it in the summer if they sell one of their top players.”

The journalist added that Spurs were interested in Frenkie de Jong too, but the midfielder swapped Ajax for Barcelona.

Castles further put doubt on the move by claiming that Spurs would have to convince Pepe to join, as the winger would receive more lucrative offers from other clubs.

Tottenham are set to finish the second transfer window in a row without a new addition, and it will be difficult to stay competitive without adding new players to the team.

Pepe seems to be having a great time with Lille, but Spurs have been burnt before regarding some of their non-British signings.

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Tottenham have struggled to see the best of Vincent Janssen, Georges-Kevin Nkoudou and even Kevin Wimmer in recent years, and we cannot make these mistakes in the transfer window any more.